Swedish authorities urge public to send in dead hedgehogs for examination

Sweden’s National Veterinary Institute (SVA) has called on the public to submit dead hedgehogs for necropsy as part of an investigation into the species’ rapid decline, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported.

SVA said it wants to determine whether diseases or infections are contributing to the drop in hedgehog numbers. “We want to find out if diseases can have significance,” said Gete Hestvik, deputy state veterinarian.

Hedgehogs are believed to have existed for roughly 30 million years, but in the past decade their numbers have fallen sharply in Sweden, and the species is now classified as threatened. “We don’t know much about diseases on hedgehogs because we haven’t examined many,” Hestvik added.

The public is asked both to report sightings of dead hedgehogs and to send in the carcasses for analysis.